Army-Navy game tops other football rivalries, Staubach says

Associated Press

Published
6:30 am CST, Thursday, November 30, 2006

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Hall of Fame quarterback Roger Staubach took the Dallas Cowboys to four Super Bowls in his 11 years in the NFL. In college, he took the Naval Academy to a No. 2 national ranking and a Cotton Bowl berth.

But the game the former Navy quarterback remembers feeling most excited about was his first Army-Navy game in 1962.

"It's the most nervous I've ever been before a game," said Staubach, 64. "There were 4,000 Midshipmen at Bancroft Hall counting on me to beat Army, and I knew it would be difficult to go back there that night if we lost."

Navy won that game 34-14, and the military academies will meet for the 107th time Saturday at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.

Staubach is no stranger to classic football rivalries. He piloted the Dallas Cowboys through the 1970s when the Redskins-Cowboys matchup was at its most heated.

But he said in Thursday's editions of The Baltimore Examiner that nothing compares with the emotions stirred by the annual Army-Navy game.

"There are so many people out there that have a direct affiliation with the military in one way or another," Staubach said. "There are those that are alumni of Annapolis or West Point and many more that are associated through the different branches of the armed services. People can just relate to what happens with those football players on the field, and they have an interest in young people who are more concerned about defending this country than themselves."

Like today's midshipmen, Staubach graduated from the academy during a time of war. He served a one-year tour of duty in Vietnam before entering the NFL in 1964 as a 10th-round draft pick of the Cowboys.

"Those young men know they are going to receive a great education by going to a service academy," Staubach said. "But they are also aware of their military commitment after graduation. That's what makes this country great, that we have people that are working toward developing the leadership skills to help shape the future."

Staubach said the difficulty recruiting in the post-911 world makes Navy coach Paul Johnson's achievements all the more impressive. Johnson has led the Midshipmen to an 8-3 record this season and a probable bowl appearance. Navy will try to keep the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy for the fourth straight year.

"It takes an entire effort to win at Navy today, and Paul's done a great job," Staubach said. "You need to recruit the right people who want to come to the Naval Academy and are willing to work harder to succeed than they would at a traditional college."